US GP: Ducati Friday practice one notes

STONER INSIDE 2007 POLE PACE IN FIRST SESSION AS MELANDRI MAKES BRIGHT
START
Casey Stoner set the pace in the opening free practice
for the USGP, which started out under uncharacteristically grey
Californian skies and amidst fresh temperatures...

Casey Stoner set the pace in the opening free practice
for the USGP, which started out under uncharacteristically grey
Californian skies and amidst fresh temperatures of 14DEGC, before the
sunshine finally broke through and warmed things up to around 19DEGC. The
Australian was quickly into the groove around the Laguna Seca circuit,
located just north of Monterey, and in the final couple of minutes of the
morning session he was lapping inside his pole position time from last
season.

Marco Melandri also did an excellent job this morning as he started out
with the same setting he found at Sachsenring, continuing to make
constant progress before ending with the fifth fastest time.

CASEY STONER (Ducati MotoGP Team) 1st: 1'21.915

"At the start the track surface was a little cool but grip wasn't bad and
after a few laps it was back to a normal level. It took a few laps to get
used to the new bumps that have emerged since last season though. In
general the track is in good shape and I enjoyed riding because it's a
fun layout and we found a good set-up pretty quickly, using the base from
last year. That allowed us to improve as the session went on and I think
that if it wasn't for a bit of traffic at the end I could have gone even
faster. For now I'm very satisfied but we have to keep working hard
because the temperatures are sure to keep rising in the afternoon and
that will have an effect on the track conditions."

MARCO MELANDRI (Ducati MotoGP Team) 5th: 1'23.455

"Finally we've had a 'proper' free practice - I'm pleased. At the
beginning the circuit was tricky but that was probably because of the
fact it was cool, because suddenly the grip came in. I had a good feeling
from the start with the bike, I was getting decent feedback and that is
something I've been missing a lot this year. I was able to ride well and
stay on the good line. From then on we made constant progress, refining
the base set-up that we used at Sachsenring. Now we need to try and
continue like this in the next session, when the temperature will no
doubt be higher, because I want a good race here."